Ever heard of Orienteering? Orienteering is an outdoor sport where you have to figure out where to go based on figuring out where you are. Running a business in today is a lot like Orienteering. I figure there are Orienteering lessons [...]
One of the reasons we find brainstorming intimidating is that some people are better than others in squeezing ideas out of their heads. These people - while amazing because they seem to have magical powers and some conduit to divine inspiration [...]
This sticky note has been stuck to my computer monitor for a while. Now I have a smaller note that states "busy ≠ productive." Often we're merely active in what we're doing. Activity feels busy. But it's not necessarily productive. Are [...]
I don't think I've shared this story with you. One of my great bosses at Starbucks marketing used the expression, "The price of admission is participation." What she meant was, if you want the privilege of being in the meetings the [...]
The book What A Great Idea! 2.0 by Chic Thompson is chock full o' bits of wisdom that help with creativity and creating new ideas. One bit Chic writes about, is how new ideas are often struck down with "killer phrases." [...]
The image below is a relic from my first out-of-college job with the Disney Company. A page from a "While You Were Out" message pad. (I re-discovered this as a bookmark in my copy of George Orwell's 1984). I [...]
A fair amount of writing about brainstorming emphasizes not judging ideas too soon. A plethora of criticism about brainstorming argues it isn't critical enough. No matter how you think-up ideas, eventually they must prove themselves worthy of helping you meet your [...]
Differentiation. *Bleck* Differentiation has become one of those marketing buzz words we hear too often. So frequently, the term seems to have lost its meaning. Nevertheless, it is a fundamental concept. I prefer the term "remarkability." Doing the things that cause people to [...]
A sponsored link from Starbucks Frappuccino appeared in my Facebook feed this morning. It announces a new Frappuccino flavor, S'mores. I won't debate the choice of flavor. I understand the challenge the Starbucks beverage team has, trying to comp their numbers year over [...]
It's a phenomenon and seems inevitable. The story plays over and over. A small business is built, grows with wild success, and then loses its tarnish. Every big business we consider bad was once a Mom and Pop. When I mean [...]